Posted by Jerry HinnenHawaii has reportedly hired widely renowned college and NFL assistant coach Norm Chow as its new head coach.

According to a report by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Chow has emerged as the Warriors' top choice out of a pool of three finalists which is likely to have included former Arizona State head coach Dirk Koetter. Athletic director Jim Donovan has reportedly been "authorized" by Hawaii officials to work out a contract with the current Utah athletic director.

Chow, 65, is a Honolulu native who began his coaching career at BYU in 1973 and spent 26 seasons with the Cougars before stints as an offensive coordinator at N.C. State, USC, the Tennessee Titans and UCLA as well as Utah. While at USC he won the 2002 Broyles Award as the nation's top assistant and played a major role in building the Trojans' national championship- and Heisman-winning offenses.

According to the Star-Advertiser report, an official announcement on Chow's hire could come as soon as Thursday.